Thriving Kids will start in October. But will the new support system be ready when families need it?

Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images From October, Australian children aged eight and under with developmental delay and autism will start accessing a new support system: Thriving Kids .

The program is still in development and is expected to be fully rolled out by January 2028.

By then, all children with developmental delay and/or autism with low to moderate support needs will be removed from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Children with permanent and significant disability, and high support needs, will remain eligible for the NDIS.

If designed well, a system that supports children with low to moderate support needs outside of individualised NDIS plans could benefit kids and their families.

But right now, parents are worried they’re about to lose a system that works and are wondering what will actually be there when their child needs help.

What’s changing? The government wants the NDIS to focus on people with permanent and significant disability, while moving people with lower support needs onto other “foundational support” programs.

This is one of a series of changes the government is making to save A$37.8 billion in NDIS expenditure over four years.

Read more: What should ‘foundational supports’ look like for people ineligible for the NDIS? The legislation making these changes passed the Senate on Tuesday, after the Labor government reached a deal with the Coalition.

It then returned to the House of Representatives yesterday and was passed .

The Commonwealth, and states and territories, have committed $4 billion over five years to foundational supports, including Thriving Kids.

But it’s the states and territories that will develop and deliver these services, and practical details are still being developed.

Queensland hasn’t yet signed the agreement for Thriving Kids, while the other states and territories have moved further ahead.

For families, this is not a minor administrative problem.